Supes talk about outreach for referendum education

Wednesday

Mar 1, 2017 at 8:50 AMMar 1, 2017 at 3:22 PM

By Clint Cole Editor

At the Dallas County Board of Supervisors’ regular meeting on Tuesday, the discussion once again came to the issue of the referendum vote in May on whether or not to build a new, $23 million public safety facility.

Representatives from the Samuels Group were on hand at the meeting to discuss the new website, Facebook and Twitter profiles, and physical media that will be distributed throughout the county to help the voters learn about the proposed facility, why it is needed, and the impact it will have on their taxes.

Recently, the Samuels Group launched a website, www.dallascountyvote.com, a Twitter handle, @DallasCtyVote and a Facebook page, @DallasCountyVote. The website has information about the facility, frequently asked questions, information on tax impact, information on the need and more. The social media profiles will provide updates to followers’ newsfeeds.

Soon, there will be a calculator on the website that lets people figure out their specific tax increase if the project were to pass. Currently there are two charts on the website, showing the annual and monthly tax increases from housing valued between $50,000 and $400,000 and agricultural property, valued between $1,200 and $2,000 per acre.

For example, a house valued at $50,000 has a net taxable value of $28,470 and will see an annual increase of $8.11 and a monthly increase of $0.67 on their property taxes. A house valued at $400,000 has a net taxable value of $222,906 and will see an annual increase of $63.55 and a monthly increase of $5.30 on their property taxes.

It says on the website that the tax increase would only last three years and in the fourth year, it would be “below the current levy rate.” Dallas County Operations Manager, Rob Tietz said that after another look, the tax increase would only last two years and return to the current rate in the third year.

“Based on when we would price the bonds and when the debt service would begin, in the third year it would revert down,” Tietz said. “So it would be a two-year increase.”

The full tax impact summary, prepared by Piper Jaffray, can also be found on the website under the “Tax Impact” tab.

There will be a series of town hall meetings in Dallas County with information about the project from Sheriff Chad Leonard and the Samuels Group. Information will also be mailed to residents of Dallas County ahead of the May 2. There will also be posters, postcards and more distributed at meetings and around the county.